Costumes Influenced by Pop Culture

By February 2, 2009 In the News No Comments

Halloween has always been a favorite holiday of mine. I love planning what my costume will be weeks, sometimes months, in advance. I usually get my ideas from whatever pop culture tragedy is fresh in my mind from reading Perez Hilton. (Hello, my name is Patti and I am addicted to celebrity gossip.)

amybritney

Photo by Charles Severance (Flickr).

Creativity

A few years ago I was Britney Spears (pre-kookoo). The costume was awesome, inexpensive and comfortable. The right hair, make-up and a six-foot long fake boa constrictor helped turn me into Britney for the night. (You all remember the costume she wore for that performance right? At least I’m sure the guys do). My goal for any Halloween costume is to have people know who I am trying to portray. When that happens I feel accomplished. I feel as though all of my hard work and attention to detail paid off. Even if I am dressing up after a pop icon I still like being creative and having a costume that no one else has. That is the hardest part, trying to be ORIGINAL.
Iconic Figures
Pop culture icons have always been a favorite for costume ideas. History has seen its share of Elvis, Madonna, and Kiss costumes. In the past few years younger celebs have started showing up on Halloween. Paris Hilton, The Jonas Brothers, Hannah Montana and Harry Potter are a few of the most popular. And of course who could forget the latest and greatest tragedy that is Amy Winehouse. I cannot tell you how many disheveled beehives I saw out the Halloween of 07′ and even this past Halloween as well.
Winehouse Costumes Photo by Charles Severance (Flickr).

I teamed up with my sister last year and we were the Olsen twins. They are a bit kooky but I adore them, as with any one I portray. What is that saying? Oh yeah, imitation is the finest form of flattery. We won two awards for our efforts. One was for the most authentic costume and the other was a runner up ribbon for best costume overall. We got beat out by an iPod that actually played music, Kudos to you my friend.

A Costume Built for Two

I have also seen some very creative celebrity couples costumes in the past. Where would “trashy Britney” be with out her K-Fed? Posh with out her spice (David)? Paris with out her Chihuahua? Halloween of 2007 yielded plenty of K-feds and post-baby Britney’s complete with baby dolls, Cheetos and ashtrays. (Lets hear it for Britney though, she has come a long way since then! You go girl.) I also remember few years ago, a couple that teamed up to be Anna Nicole. One was Anna before Trim Spa and the other was Anna after. It was funny then, would not be so much after her tragic death, but they won for best costume that year.

joker Photo by Beau B (Flickr).

 

Keep it PC

One thing to keep in mind when picking out a costume is trying not to offend people! I saw a bunch of really cool Health Ledger “Joker” costumes this past Halloween. Unfortunately I also saw a kid dressed up as a deceased Heath Ledger with a bottle of sleeping pills. It struck a nerve in me, as I’m sure it did many others. It was done purely for attention and it was very tasteless. You want your costume to be a conversation starter, not an all out brawl starter.

Plotting

I still have a while to decide on this years Halloween costume. Britney Spears and Amy Winehouse are back on their feet (err on their way). Paris Hilton is no longer in jail and is back to being a boring socialite. The rest of Hollywood has been popping out babies but fake pregnant bellies and parties do not go over too well together. I have 9 months to get a new costume idea and everyday I read Perez looking for my next pop culture victim. Any suggestions?

Spread the love